Clinical Psychiatry News

Clinical Psychiatry News is a monthly medical and psychiatry tabloid published since 1973 by the International Medical News Group. Subjects for Clinical Psychiatry News include psychology and psychiatry. The executive editor is Denise Fulton, and Gina Henderson is a senior editor.

Search within this publication

Articles from Vol. 30, No. 6, June

Adverse Drug Reactions Seen after Approval in 10% of Drugs. (FDA Standards Questioned)

Serious adverse drug reactions were noted after marketing in more than 10% of 548 drugs approved between 1975 and 1999, according to Dr. Karen E. Lasser of Harvard Medical School, Boston, and her associates. These drugs eventually acquired at least...

ORLANDO, FLA. -- Anxiety has a complex impact on the course of depression in the elderly, Dr. Alistair Flint said at the annual meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. While anxious patients tend to respond more poorly to antidepressant...

APA Members Get New Malpractice Insurer: Hold on Claims Payments to Expire July 1. (Old Policy in Force for Many)

American Psychiatric Association members who carry APA-endorsed malpractice liability insurance received some good news after 2 months of uncertainty: A new, highly rated insurer is entering the picture to take over new policies and renewals. Professional...

Although bipolar disorder covers a spectrum of mood episodes, research and treatments have focused more on mania than on depression. (1) Currently approved mood stabilizers--standard first-line regimens for bipolar disorder-- target mania rather than....

NEW YORK -- Clear boundaries create structure and preserve the integrity of the therapeutic relationship, a panel of psychiatrists said at a psychiatric meeting sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine. "Boundaries define who we are--without...

AUSTIN, TEX. -- In conducting cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder, therapists should tailor their challenge strategies to the individual patient's threat sensitivities, Michael J. Telch, Ph.D., said at the annual conference of the Anxiety...

Clinical Strategies Needed to Curb HIV in Mentally Ill: The Risk with Schizophrenia and Affective Disorder Is High and Likely to Go Higher. (Review of 400,000 Medicaid Cases)

WASHINGTON -- The risk of HIV infection is nearly three times higher in patients with schizophrenia and more than four times higher in patients with affective disorder than in the general population, Michael B. Blank, Ph.D., reported at an international...

Cognitive Deficits Affect 85% of Schizophrenics. (Deficits Are Often Profound)

NEW YORK -- Cognitive deficits are more prevalent than positive symptoms in schizophrenia, and their impact on outcome is more profound, Dr. Roberto Gil said at a schizophrenia conference sponsored by Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric...

AUSTIN, TEX. -- Children who present with chest pain rarely have cardiac problems and are more likely to have a diagnosable anxiety disorder, Dr. Joshua D. Lipsitz reported at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. ...

Psychoanalyssis has gotten trapped in a biologic fervor that is attempting prematurely to reduce psychological activity to brain function. Many of my colleagues have become swept up in the enthusiasm for the effort to bridge the chasm between mind...

Providing psychiatric consultations to companies can provide a welcome change of pace and added income to office-based psychiatrists who are interested in the business world. Psychiatrists who have made this part of their practice find few downsides...

DENVER -- The incidence of dementia in the first 2 years after initiation of dialysis is markedly greater than in the general population without renal failure, Dr. Anne M. Murray reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology....

DENVER -- The development of dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease is associated with a two- to threefold increased risk of mortality, Dr. Karen Marder said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology This sharply increased...

CHICAGO -- Even in the era of second-generation antipsychotic drugs, optimal management of schizophrenia continues to involve a delicate balance between symptom control and adverse effects. While the newer antipsychotic agents are associated with...

DENVER -- Diabetes mellitus appears to be associated with a markedly increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, but only in men, Steven D. Edland, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The association between diabetes...

Disability Evaluations Offer New Source of Income. (High Demand for This Public Service)

SAN DIEGO -- Psychiatrists can easily expand their practices by evaluating applicants for Social Security disability benefits, Dr. C. Donald Williams reported at the annual conference of the Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry. ...

WASHINGTON -- Diabetes patients with a "dismissing" attachment style have much poorer glucose control than do those with the other three adult attachment styles, Dr. Paul Ciechanowski reported at an international conference sponsored by the National...

Effects of Once-Daily Methylphenidate Appear to Last throughout School Day. (Rapid Onset Plus Sufficient Duration)

Modified-release methylphenidate taken once in the morning remains effective in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder throughout the school day, said Dr. Laurence L. Greenhill of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York,...

WASHINGTON -- Don't expect too much in the way of mental health care program advances this year, either legislatively or administratively. Despite their praise for President Bush's creation of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (see box...

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. -- Recognizing the difference between an injury caused by abuse and one that is the result of normal wear and tear in childhood is important, but not well understood, Dr. Alice W Newton said at a meeting on behavioral pediatrics sponsored...

SAN ANTONIO -- In managing the apractic patient, caregivers should be careful to maintain a sense of familiarity in tools and setting, said Dr. Josepha A. Cheong at the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Apraxia is a frequent...

SAN FRANCISCO -- PubMed may be the world's largest electronic database of biomedical literature citations, but it's not foolproof, Dr. Scott Kinkade said in a poster session at the annual spring conference of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine....

A new book, "How to Go to Therapy," written by Carl Sherman (Random House, 2001), has been described by one psychiatrist as a warm and insightful step-by-step guide for prospective patients. Mr. Sherman, a long-time writer for CLINICAL PsyCHIATRY NEWS,...

DENVER -- Habitual snoring is an independent risk factor for chronic daily headache, conferring a two- to threefold increased risk, Ann I. Scher, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. Other risk factors associated...

WASHINGTON - Patients who have high hostility levels or who face stress from caring for a loved one with a serious illness may be at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral...

PITTSBURGH -- Sleep deprivation in a child experiencing pain may cause physiologic and psychological problems that increase the severity of the child's suffering, Dr. Daniel S. Lewin said at a meeting on managing pain in pediatric patients sponsored...

Parity Paradox In theory, parity for mental health is a lovely idea. Practically, it does not make good sense ("Psychiatrists: Too Many, or Too Few?" Fink! Still at Large, February 2002, P. 22). What we do for a living is not the same as what...

Dr. Helen S. Mayberg was looking forward to hearing reaction to her study comparing the effects of placebo with those of fluoxetine in depressed men, but she didn't expect what came next. In the double-blind study of 17 previously unmedicated depressed...

New criteria for diagnosing depression in Alzheimer's patients should increase recognition of the problem, said Dr. Gary Kennedy, president of the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry. Developed by a team of researchers led by the National...

CHICAGO -- Even excisional surgery for brain tumors can be successfully done on an outpatient basis. Between December 1996 and February 2002, 19% of 307 patients who underwent awake craniotomy for tumor resection voluntarily elected to have an outpatient...

SACRAMENTO -- Treatment for bipolar patients should include not only the right medications, but in many cases counseling for weight loss, Dr. Donald Hilty reported at a meeting on bipolar disorder sponsored by the University of California, Davis. ...

Evaluating and treating anxiety in patients who present with psychiatric symptoms and undiagnosed medical illness can be particularly challenging. "There is a long list of illnesses that can cause anxiety," said Dr. Larry S. Goldman, director of...

WASHINGTON -- A plan that lays out a prescriptive timeline for Congress to achieve "steps" toward universal health care coverage within 7 years received kudos for its constructiveness but slim odds for its adoption. The plan, developed by the American...

Pro & Con: Should Physicians Be Allowed to Negotiate Collectively with Health Plans?

Should physicians be allowed to negotiate collectively with health plans? YES Antitrust laws aim to protect consumers by encouraging competition. In many communities, however, a small number of powerful health plans exercise monopolistic power over...

BARCELONA, SPAIN -- A cognitive-behavioral stress reduction program for women who have just had surgery for breast cancer appears to improve mood and reduce depression, but also brings an unexpected bonus--the capacity to find a positive benefit in...

PITTSBURGH -- Using earlier case detection to reduce the time between a patient's first psychotic episode and initial treatment and phase-specific intensive treatment resulted in improved short-term outcomes in an ongoing Canadian study, Dr. Ashok...

"I am a feminist, both by temperament and intellect, and my films are shaped by my outlook on life." The author of this declaration is Marleen Gorris, the Dutch writer-director whose early films were guerrilla warfare; men were the enemy, and women...

Self-Management Program May Cut Manic Episode Recurrence. (Risk Reduced by Half in Study)

WASHINGTON -- A program promoting better self-management of bipolar disorder reduced the risk of recurrent manic episodes by half, Dr. Gregory E. Simon reported at an international conference sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. ...

I spent a year as a health policy fellow, working in Sen. Ted Kennedy's office, and it was the single most important year in my professional career. It opened my eyes to the complexities of the health policy and legislative processes and allowed...

DENVER -- Statin use has demonstrated a strong protective effect against Alzheimer's disease in the largest study to date examining the association. Taking a statin was associated with an adjusted 79% reduction in risk of developing Alzheimer's...

CHICAGO -- The first transplant of autologous neural "stem" cells into a patient with Parkinson's disease has ameliorated symptoms through a 1-year follow-up, even though initial increases in dopaminergic activity were followed by a return to baseline...

St. John's Wort Not Superior to Sertraline or Placebo. (in 340 Patients with Major Depression)

In the first study of its kind, investigators found that St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) is no more effective than either sertraline or placebo in treating patients with moderately severe major depression. A study published last year showed...

TUCSON, ARIZ. -- Youth substance abuse and mental health problems often arise from the growing pains of adolescence, and must be treated with an understanding of a teen's social development, Dr. Charles Huffine said at a meeting on mental illness and...

NEW YORK -- When trying to choose from among the vast number of available augmentation strategies for treatment-resistant depression, let patient characteristics be your guide, Dr. Norman Sussman offered at a conference on psychopharmacology sponsored...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. -- Loss of consciousness after head injury is not a significant predictor of outcome in athletes who had a concussion, Mark Lovell, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. His...

After more than 2 years of work, a detailed examination of the literature, and review by about 800 psychiatrists, the American Psychiatric Association has issued the first new guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder since 1994. The most...

VAIL, COLO. -- The oft-repeated claim that most chronic pelvic pain in women stems from childhood victimization has been called into question by a well-designed study Dr. John C. Slocumb said at a conference on obstetrics and gynecology sponsored by...